CBC insists it’s independent, reversed 9/11 directive 30 minutes after cabinet objected
The public broadcaster faced fierce backlash after a leaked internal memo showed that journalists and editors were ordered not to describe the September 11, 2001 attacks as terrorist attacks.
CBC News reversed its controversial directive instructing journalists not to call the September 11 attacks “terrorist attacks” just 30 minutes after the federal cabinet publicly condemned the softer language, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
CBC journalistic standards director Basem Boshra announced at 4:44 p.m. Eastern on Friday that management was withdrawing its earlier guidance, acknowledging it had caused “significant concern, anger and hurt for many people.”
Just 30 minutes earlier, at 4:14 p.m., Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree issued a statement on behalf of the federal government explicitly describing 9/11 as terrorism.
“The Government of Canada has always recognized 9/11 as the deadliest terrorist attack in history and we unequivocally condemn terrorism in all its forms,” said Anandasangaree.
The original CBC directive, first disclosed by the Toronto Sun, instructed reporters: “Do not refer to the September 11 attacks as terrorist attacks.”
Instead, journalists were told to describe the attacks as “hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes.”
CBC had defended the directive for days despite criticism from 9/11 survivors, Canadian commentators and senior U.S. officials.
FBI Director Kash Patel blasted the language, warning that any agency refusing to recognize the attacks for what they were would “no longer have a friend in the FBI.”
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra also condemned the directive as reckless, warning that failing to recognize terrorist ideologies could undermine Canada-U.S. security cooperation.
Heritage Minister Marc Miller welcomed CBC’s reversal, calling the original instruction “pedantic and foolish guidance that caused legitimate anger.”
The rapid turnaround stands in contrast to repeated assurances from CBC executives that the taxpayer-funded broadcaster operates independently of political pressure.
“We do not take into consideration political winds or influences,” former CBC president Catherine Tait testified before the House of Commons heritage committee in 2024.
Current CBC president and CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard, who earns $562,000 annually, offered similar assurances to MPs in April.
“I don’t believe our reporters are pursuing a particular agenda,” Bouchard testified. “They are seeking the truth.”
Former CBC Ottawa bureau chief Keith Boag was also critical of the reversal, but for a different reason, calling the decision to abandon the directive “cowardly pandering” and “an embarrassment to journalism.”
The controversy even prompted the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to issue rare public commentary describing September 11 as “devastating terrorist attacks” and calling them a reminder of the importance of counterterrorism work.
CBC’s original directive survived days of criticism from survivors, commentators and American security officials.
It lasted just 30 minutes after the Liberal cabinet publicly weighed in.
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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